Eric and Jamie have moved to Saudi Arabia. After living in China for two years, we have decided to take another international school teaching opportunity to teach in "The Kingdom." We have created this site to keep our family and friends updated on our journey. We are currently teaching at International Schools Group in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, right on the Persian Gulf. We would like to thank you for checking out our blog and hope you continue to visit.

We have also had the opportunity to travel to some amazing places in China, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Bali. We have archived all of our travels and living experiences abroad; and if you wish, you can read about our adventures by finding the archives on the right of this page and by checking our Photo Album.

We appreciate all of our family and friends who have stayed in touch and emailed us with encouraging words throughout the year. We hope you will continue to keep us in your thoughts as we continue our adventure of living abroad teaching at an international school. For those who have stumbled upon our site, check out the "About Eric and Jamie" section on the right for more information.

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." - Maya Angelou

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Yes, It is HOT!

Jamie and I actually woke early and then proceeded out for a quick tour of the compound. See our COMPOUND TOUR Video for all of the details. I haven’t seen the weather the last few days for here, but it is as hot as they say it is. You can walk about 20 steps and already be sweating.

After returning, we went straight to unpacking and settling all of our belongings. We then made a list of the necessary items we’ll need to completely settle in and really just relaxed the remainder of the day.

Jamie and I, more so me, will have to wait for our residency visas to process before we can pretty much do anything. We can’t set up our Internet, purchase a car, drive a car, set up our bank account, or leave and re-enter the country until we receive our Iqama. The Iqama is pretty much like a “green card” and allows us to fully work in the Kingdom. Until then, we have a letter that serves this purpose, but you still can’t do any of the above without it.
This can be a bit frustrating because we are at the mercy of others for rides to the store, but everyone has been very helpful at offering their services, so we feel that we’ll be just fine for the month. A bus will take us back and forth to work until we can finally purchase a car. For Jamie, it is illegal for her to drive, so that won’t be an issue for her anyway.
We enjoyed the rest of the day and ordered some lamb and chicken curry for delivery for dinner. We were able visit another villa and Skype with our parents to fill them in on most of these details.

Tomorrow, Friday, is a very slow day in the Kingdom as it is their holy day, similar to Sunday for most of the Western world. However, there are a few larger stores that are open, so we’ll venture out with our buddy couple to buy some much needed supplies for our villa.
Shoot me some questions via email or comments. I’ll try and get them onto the blog at some point in time. I think it would be a good way to answer some questions if I in fact have the answers.

1 comment:

In checking out where you are at I found it interesting that it is so humid there. I would have thought that it would have been drier even being close to the Gulf. You guys stay safe and enjoying your blog.

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About Eric and Jamie

Eric

I am now teaching 7th grade Math/Science at ISG in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. For the last two years, I have been teaching middle school at Quality Schools International in Shekou, China for 2 years. Prior to these international school placements, I taught middle and high school social studies in the state of Georgia for 7 years. I'm originally from the small town of Calhoun, Tennessee (Go Vols!) and went to high school at McMinn County High School. After high school, I completed my Bachelor of Arts Degree in history at Middle Tennessee State University minoring in Geography and Secondary Education. I was a brother of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity all four years. Upon completion of student teaching, I took a job in Cartersville, Georgia teaching Georgia history to 8th graders. In 2004, I completed my Master of Science degree in Educational Administration from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. I coached baseball and basketball in Cartersville for 5 years before moving to a high school in Adairsville, Georgia teaching just about every social studies and coaching the Mock Trial team. My hobbies included traveling, reading (Gresham, Baldacci, North Patterson, Connelly, and Dan Brown), golf, tennis, and politics. Recently, I've been trying to get back in shape by running and have been proud with my progress. I am hoping to finish my dissertation for my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Capella University sometime before my hair falls out.

Jamie

My husband and I moved to Saudi Arabia in August of 2010 to take teaching positions at ISG in Dhahran where I am teaching high school social studies. Prior to this, I have been working at QSI in Shekou for 2 years teaching in a middle school. Before this, I worked in Calhoun, Georgia for 4 years teaching every high school social studies subject. After graduating from Rome High School in Georgia, I went to the University of Georgia and earned a Social Science Education degree in 2004. I have since graduated with my master's degree in Teaching and Learning from Nova Southeastern University and working on my PhD dissertation in Curriculum and Instruction from Capella University. I love reading and traveling as well as spending time with the most wonderful husband in the world.

We actually met in 2004 on a blind date set up by one of Eric's former students' mother. We started dating and were engaged on New Year's Eve of 2006 and subsequently were married on June 2, 2007 in Rome, Georgia. We are avid travelers and cultural readers and decided we wanted see the world and began searching for teaching jobs abroad. We figured since we were still young and without any children, now would be the best time. We have had amazing travels through China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Bali, Indonesia.

We will be teaching in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia starting in August 2010 to teach middle and high school for International Schools Group for a 2 year contract. We are excited about this new experience and hope that it opens up new travel opportunities for us.